A former director general in Iran’s Transport Ministry appeared before Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board May 8 as officials continue efforts to expel former officials of the Islamic Republic who have come to Canada.
. . . unwanted in Canada
Afshin Pirnoon is one of 20 alleged senior Iranian officials found living in Canada since Ottawa launched a crackdown against them in 2022 due to their involvement in a regime that flouts human rights and supports terrorism.
The 49-year-old, who said he was now working as an Uber driver, spoke through a Farsi interpreter as he faced questions about his role in the Iranian government before he arrived in Canada in 2022 and filed a refugee claim.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has alleged that as director general of Iran’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, Pirnoon was a high-ranking official in the service of the Islamic Republic.
As such, he would not be allowed in Canada and should be deported, the CBSA said. The hearing before the refugee board was to determine whether the CBSA had a reasonable case against him.
Photos on Iranian government and news websites show Pirnoon at events alongside political and religious leaders. He can also be seen attending official meetings, giving interviews and delivering speeches.
A civil engineer with a master’s degree, Pirnoon worked for the Iranian government for 22 years. Until 2022, he was employed by the branch of the Ministry of Transport and Urban Development responsible for road safety.
The minister of transport when Pirnoon left the ministry was Mohammad Eslami, who is on the sanctions lists in Canada, the European Union and Britain for his alleged role in the development of nuclear weapons. Eslami now heads the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
Pirnoon denied any role in security-related activity and said he had no decision-making authority or influence. As a road safety expert, he had saved “so many lives.” He added that working for a government did not mean supporting it.
“Whatever I’ve done in my life so far was to safeguard the human beings’ life,” he said. “And since I started to live here, I have tried my best to behave as a very good citizen for Canadian society.”
A decision on his case is expected later this year.
The Canadian government announced in 2022 that it had banned senior Iranian officials from the country and that those already here would be deported. The measure was a response to the suppression of women’s rights demonstrations as well as Iran’s sponsorship of groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis.
Since the federal government stepped up pressure on Tehran, immigration enforcement officers have opened investigations into dozens of alleged regime officials believed to have resettled in Canada. Only one is known to have been expelled thus far, though others have reportedly left voluntarily when they learned they were being investigated.
